CA9: Mistaken stop on Automatic License Plate Reader gets no qualified immunity

Plaintiff was subject to an erroneous felony stop because of a hit by an Automatic License Plate Reader. Summary judgment of her § 1983 claim on qualified immunity for false arrest and excessive force was reversed, and the case sent back for further development and likely trial. Green v. City & County of San Francisco, 751 F.3d 1039 (9th Cir. 2014). Summary by the court:

Plaintiff’s lawsuit arose out of a vehicular stop by San Francisco Police officers after the police department’s Automatic License Plate Reader mistakenly identified plaintiff’s Lexus as a stolen vehicle. Without visually confirming the license plate, a police officer made a “high-risk” stop during which plaintiff was held at gunpoint by multiple officers, handcuffed, forced to her knees, and detained for up to twenty minutes before the mistake was discovered and she was released.

The panel held that there were triable questions as to whether: (1) law enforcement had a reasonable suspicion to justify plaintiff’s initial detention, (2) plaintiff’s detention amounted to an arrest without probable cause, and (3) police officers used excessive force in effecting the detention. The panel further held that viewing the facts in plaintiff’s favor, it could not make a determination as a matter of law that the officer who made the initial stop was entitled to qualified immunity. Because questions of fact remained regarding defendants’ conduct, the panel also reversed the district court’s summary judgment as to the municipal liability and state law claims and affirmed the district court’s denial of partial summary judgment as to plaintiff.